


Day 4: Saw

by Magpie_Crow



Series: Fictober 2020 [4]
Category: Sanders Sides (Web Series)
Genre: Dryad Virgil, Light Angst, M/M, Mostly Fluff, Multi, dryad Roman, lumberjack Patton, non-sexual nudity
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-04
Updated: 2020-10-04
Packaged: 2021-03-07 23:07:17
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,196
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26815588
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Magpie_Crow/pseuds/Magpie_Crow
Summary: Patton has intentions toward a tree in his woods.Later, when he finds out the tree has a dryad, he hasintentions(Not to be NSFW, but hand-holding, maybe?)
Relationships: Anxiety | Virgil/Creativity | Roman/Morality | Patton
Series: Fictober 2020 [4]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1946062
Comments: 3
Kudos: 61





	Day 4: Saw

**Author's Note:**

> I honestly don't know what happened here. I wrote it in a fugue state. 
> 
> There may have been insane cackling at one point.

Patton put his hands on his hips and surveyed the tree before him. It was a good, solid looking tree, without many knots or any bird’s nests hiding away in its branches. He didn’t necessarily _need_ the wood yet, as winter was still several months away and his woodpile was well stocked, but he needed something to do and something in his gut said that this tree would be the thing to do. 

With a grunt, he picked up his hot saw chainsaw and revved it up. 

Sure, it wasn’t the smartest to use a competition grade chainsaw for a home logging, but it was the fastest he had. It also wasn’t terribly smart to use it to chop down a tree, but Patton had an adventurous spirit and didn’t particularly care if he died here in the woods. 

It’s not like he had anything to live for. He was the only person living in the area for miles. Mainly because he owned the woods surrounding his home, but that was beside the point. He had few friends, fewer neighbors, and his boyfriend just left him and took his dog.

He chuckled to himself. His life was starting to sound like a bad country song. 

Patton started towards the tree, but stopped when he heard a voice behind him.

“Halt, foul fiend!”

He turned off the chainsaw and turned, only to drop the machine to cover his eyes. The young man in front of him was buck naked and valiantly holding a large branch as if to defend himself.

Patton shrugged off his red plaid overshirt, trying not to look at the young man, and proffered it to him.

“Please put some clothes on, kiddo.”

“Uh. Nay! I- I’m angry at you!”

Patton looked up in surprise, and actually _looked_ this time. That there young man had refused his offer of clothing, and that made looking okay, right? 

“Why’re you angry?” In Patton’s expert opinion, the young man in front of him was probably the most eth-e-real person he’d ever seen. He was tall, with broad shoulders and red-brown hair that curled around his shoulders. Patton kept his eyes above belt, though. He wasn’t no heathen.

“You- You’re trying to cut down my partner’s tree! Why wouldn’t I be angry? You’d be angry if some stranger came along and tried to kill your wife, wouldn’t you?”

Patton held his hands up. 

“Woah, now, kiddo. I wasn’t trying to do any harm. Your partner’s tree, you say? How’s it their tree?”

The young man put his hands on his hips. 

“We’re dryads, imbecile.”

Dryads. Patton knew the stories, of course, he just hadn’t thought there would be mythical tree spirits on his land. 

He gulped. 

“I haven’t- cut down any other dryads, have I?”

The young man shook his head. 

“No, but you were about to, and that makes you my mortal enemy!”

“Now, calm down, kiddo. I didn’t mean no harm, and I’m not gonna cut down the tree now. Why don’t you put down the branch, tie this shirt around your waist, and let’s have us a proper conversation?”

The dryad gingerly put down the branch and accepted Patton’s outstretched flannel. He did as he was told, tying it around his waist and then sitting down on a nearby hummock of grass without further by your leave. 

Patton sat too, criss-cross applesauce, and leaned forward with his elbows on his knees. 

“Now then, I’m Patton Foster. I own this stretch of woods. I suppose you’ve got some claim to it, though, since you’re a’livin’ here.” 

The dryad nodded. 

“My name is Roman, in the human tongue. I’ve heard humans call my tree a ‘texas madrone’, although I’m not sure what either of those words mean. My partner, Virgil, their tree is that ‘jacaranda’ you just tried to fell.”

Patton thought for a minute. 

“I hadn’ta realized this was a jacaranda. Normally they bloom all purple like.”

Roman looked sheepish. 

“I asked Virgil not to. I’m the only one who gets to see how pretty they are.”

Aww, wasn’t that cute? Patton kept down the urge to squeal. 

~~

He met with Roman a few more times before Virgil finally showed themselves. Patton was wearing a black overshirt that day, and he practically flung it at the newcomer. 

“Please, please, please, for the love of god, cover up.”

Virgil took the shirt and practically drowned in it. It was pretty cute, if Patton was honest. 

Roman _and_ Virgil were pretty cute. 

Nope. Not gonna have thoughts about dryads. They probably didn’t date humans anyways.

~~

It didn’t take too long for Virgil to warm up to him, only a few months. When it got colder, Patton noticed how the young dryad would shiver at the slightest breath of cold air, so he’d ordered a heavy jacket. 

Virgil took it without prompting. 

Roman watched thoughtfully. 

~~

They couldn’t leave the area around their trees, not far enough to visit Patton at home. He generally made his way out to see them most days. It was nice, having folks to talk to now and again. 

Real nice. It started to hurt less and less when he thought about his ex, until he didn’t think about the slimy snake at all. 

He thought about Virgil, their dark hair falling across their face as they laughed. He thought about Roman, leaping up from his seat to illustrate a brave war he had going on with some squirrels. 

He thought about how soft their skin might be, how their hair might look spread across his pillows, and- 

Nope. Not thinking that. Definitely not. 

His bed _was_ big enough for three.

But they couldn’t leave the woods, could they?

Patton began taking trips into town, just to use the internet at the local library. He could figure something out, surely. 

~~

“You’ve been neglecting us.” Roman was pouting at him when he arrived at their little clearing. Virgil was sitting a ways off, their back turned to Patton.

“No, not really,” Patton drawled. “I just been doin some research.”

“What kind of research?” 

“Well now, I was thinkin’ it would be nice to have you two home for dinner sometime.”

“We can’t get close to your house.” Virgil sounded petulant, and they still didn’t turn around.

Patton nodded, and then remembered that Virgil couldn’t see him.

“That’s true, but- I been thinkin…”

“About?”

“There are ways to- well, move a fully grown tree, ya know?” 

Virgil spun around. 

“There are?”

“Yeeup. I was wonderin if you two might like to re-locate? See a bit more of the world?”

Roman whooped, and suddenly Patton had an armful of dryad, and then-

Roman was _kissing_ him. 

Patton pulled away and looked to Virgil in a panic, but they didn’t look unhappy at all.

“Roman! You said we’d _talk_ to him first!”

Roman nuzzled into Patton’s chest, refusing to let go of his shoulders. 

“You’re just mad because I got first dibs on kisses.”

Patton laughed, lifted Roman bodily, and then strode over to Virgil, who lifted their chin enough so Patton could lean down and place a tiny kiss on their lips. 

Country songs had nothing on this.

**Author's Note:**

> Hope y'all enjoyed! 
> 
> I set up a Discord server! <https://discord.gg/gtWgvQ4>  
> Join me to talk about my writing and stuff!
> 
> Find more on tumblr @we-are-fam-ily


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